Tag: black

AFI Docs 2021A
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July 2, 2021

A Dispatch from the 2021 AFI Docs Film Festival

Documentaries from Zac Manuel, Garrett Bradley, Dilsey Davis and more highlight a difficult year taking its furtive steps back into a potentially post-COVID world.
Fatherhood (Netflix)&
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June 20, 2021

“Fatherhood” will hardly win Dad Movie of the Year

Kevin Hart dips his toes into dramedy, but the film can't quite overcome a weak script and a heaping helping of unearned melodrama.
Accepted (Tribeca Film Festival)T
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June 19, 2021

Tribeca 2021: “Accepted” looks at American education’s racial divide

Dan Chen's documentary starts as a celebration of unexpected Black success, but pulls back the curtain to ask more enticing questions about the racial inequities in education.
No Running (Tribeca Film Festival)T
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June 19, 2021

Tribeca 2021: “No Running” stumbles over its sci-fi premise

Delmar Washington's well-intentioned sci-fi parable about racial profiling gets tripped up in the constraints of its budget.
Subjects of Desire / United States vs. Reality Winner (SXSW)S
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March 21, 2021

SXSW 2021 Doc Competition: “Subjects of Desire”, “United States vs. Reality Winner”

From depictions of Black beauty to the ethics of whistleblowing, two female-focused docs out of SXSW struggle to hammer home a central message.  (This dispatch..
Spring Valley / When Claude Got Shot / Who We Are (SXSW)S
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March 18, 2021

SXSW 2021 Doc Spotlight: “Spring Valley”, “When Claude Got Shot”, “Who We Are”

Black issues are front and center, from reckonings with racist violence to broader discussions of the history of America's prejudice.
Jermaine Stegall Coming 2 AmericaJ
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March 13, 2021

Jermaine Stegall on giving voice to Zamunda in “Coming 2 America”

The Coming 2 America composer talks about finding the sound of Zamunda and the need for opportunities for Black composers.
The Inheritance&
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March 10, 2021

“The Inheritance” struggles to coalesce notions of Black liberation

Ephraim Asili's Godard-inspired treatise on Black activism and community-building loses itself a bit in its artistic flair.
United States vs. Billie Holiday&
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February 21, 2021

“The United States vs. Billie Holiday” can’t build a strong case for itself

Andra Day shines in Lee Daniels' otherwise-messy biopic about the Black cultural icon, squandering some fine potential.
Sundance PassingS
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February 10, 2021

Sundance 2021: “Passing” lingers in the gulf between black & white

Rebecca Hall adapts Nella Lawson's novella about Black social mobility (and its corresponding resentments) to haunting effect.